Zlebye is a traditional dessert prepared by Lebanese Christians celebrating the baptism of Jesus by John the baptist, on January 6 of each year. This traditional old “doughnut” is very easy to prepare.
Total servings: 17 donuts (according to the size)
Preparation time: 2 hours
Ingredients
2 ½ cups of flour
2 tbsp. of butter, melted
½ tsp of yeast
½ tsp of baking powder
4 tsp of sugar
2 ½ tbsp. of powder milk
1 cup of warm water
Pinch of powdered anise, mahleb and nutmeg
Vegetable oil for frying
Powder sugar for serving
Preparation steps:
- In a bowl, mix all ingredients and leave the dough to rest for 2 hours
- Knead the dough gently for a couple of minutes
- Cover the bowl with a humid cloth and allow to rest and ferment for 2 hours
- When the dough is done, divided it into small pieces
- Make palm-sized balls and stretch them to obtain elongated shapes
- In a pan, heat the vegetable oil
- Fry the donuts and remove from oil when both sides are golden brown
- Put the zlebye on a paper towel and sprinkle with powder sugar before serving